Policy 5401 Request: Send us a Copy of your Response
February 29, 2024
Thank you to the many Departments that wrote to Education Council (EdCo) in response to the employer’s proposed changes to Policy 5401. The FSA is collecting member responses to the policy, and we would like to see yours. If you did not ‘cc’ or ‘bcc’ the FSA on your Department’s response, or if you have recently created a response, can you please share it with us if you are comfortable doing so?
We are continuing to gather data and to monitor how EdCo moves forward with edits to Policy 5401. Sharing your Department’s feedback helps to inform our ongoing actions. Department responses are themed and help the FSA get the big picture of how Departments perceive this policy.
EdCo/ Board of Governors Meetings
Policy 5401 has not yet appeared on upcoming Board of Governors (BOG) or EdCo agendas following the January 31, 2024 deadline to comment, but we continue to monitor the situation closely. Any policy change would first be voted on at EdCo and subsequently go to the BOG for a vote. You can also ask your School’s EdCo Rep to monitor upcoming agendas for these meetings. EdCo meeting packages are online. EdCo and BOG meetings are open to the BCIT community.
- March 20th EdCo / April 3rd BoG (agendas TBD)
- May 1st EdCo / May 28th BoG (agendas TBD)
- June 5th EdCo / June 24th BoG (agendas TBD)
February 27th Board of Governors Meeting
Policy 5401 was not on Tuesday’s BOG meeting agenda (2024-02-27), but a related policy, Policy 5012, was voted on and approved. President Colin Jones and Vice President Shannon Kelly attended the meeting and raised a question from the floor regarding the nature of consultation for this policy and its relation to Policy 5401. This led to extensive discussion and follow-up questions.
Specifically:
- It was acknowledged that the BOG members read the FSA Board’s letter regarding Policy 5401.
- It was acknowledged that there are linkages between Policy 5012 and Policy 5401.
- It was acknowledged that points raised are valid and deserve consideration.
- It was acknowledged that it could be possible to review Policy 5012 again in light of Policy 5401, if necessary.
Although, ultimately, Policy 5012 was passed, we know our presence, along with the resulting discussion, was informative for the BOG members and has alerted them to the gravity of Policy 5401 and our members’ concerns.
In addition to monitoring any progression of Policy 5401 through the BOG and EdCo, the issue of consultation on this policy is an ongoing topic for the FSA Labour Relations team and the FSA Board. Please follow the FSA Friday Bulletin and FSA Blog for regular updates. We encourage Departments to continue to discuss this matter in Department meetings* and to reach out to the FSA with questions and comments.
Endnotes
*Learn more about Departments and Department meetings.